After returning home with Liu Zhaoran, the two of them washed up and had something to eat, then each went back to their own room to rest. Letting her body go limp on the soft bed, Song Nanyin turned over comfortably and rubbed her cheek against the sheets, and only then did she feel a genuine sense of being “home.”

Realizing she could feel this way, Song Nanyin was briefly taken aback. After all, this was Liu Zhaoran’s home; from any angle or point of view, it had nothing to do with her. But in truth, staying here with Liu Zhaoran felt rather nice.

Actually, Liu Zhaoran wasn’t the irritating sort of housemate. Most of the time she gave Song Nanyin plenty of freedom. Aside from the occasional morning when she would come over to wake her up on the pretext of research, they got along without a hitch. That was also why Song Nanyin had agreed to stay a few more days. It was only a few days, anyway.

Research… will it change back? Song Nanyin curled up in the bedding, gently stroking her chest, then slowly moving her hand down to rest on her belly.

If not for this transformation, she would probably never have had such close contact with Liu Zhaoran. Now that it had happened, Song Nanyin discovered she was far less averse to Liu Zhaoran than she had imagined.

Thinking of that night’s scent, of Liu Zhaoran’s smell and warmth, Song Nanyin closed her eyes and drifted hazily into sleep.

The next day, the two of them didn’t need to report to the company right away; there was plenty of time to spare. Song Nanyin slept until noon, and Liu Zhaoran didn’t rush to wake her for the research, even preparing an exquisite, generous spread for lunch and afternoon tea.

“Say, Black-Hearted Lotus, you wouldn’t be plotting something, would you?” Song Nanyin ate the little cake the other had made, took a sip of coffee, and asked uneasily.

“Why would you say that? Team Leader Song, don’t always think of me as so frightening.” Liu Zhaoran laughed softly, finding Song Nanyin’s wariness rather amusing.

She did indeed intend to do something fairly “out of line” by Song Nanyin’s standards, and the chief reason was, naturally, that Song Nanyin had suddenly differentiated into an Alpha in this world, becoming the same species as herself.

Such an existence was precious beyond measure. If Liu Zhaoran’s initial interest in Song Nanyin had been born of curiosity, now she wanted to unearth even more secrets from her.

Liu Zhaoran was selfish, and even less willing to put herself at a disadvantage. She was like an insatiable devouring flower, and Song Nanyin was the nourishment clustered around it.

Liu Zhaoran wanted to hollow her out, to make her serve her own ends, to taste her from the inside out and devour the sweetness within.

“Nothing. I just think a black-hearted lotus like you would never be nice to someone for no reason.” Song Nanyin popped the cherry from the top of the little cake into her mouth and bit down gently, discovering it had even been pitted, and couldn’t help slanting a glance at Liu Zhaoran.

“Because I find Team Leader Song very interesting, and I’d very much like to keep getting along with you. If that counts as having an agenda, then Team Leader Song hasn’t guessed wrong.” Liu Zhaoran tilted her head to look at Song Nanyin and gave her a faint smile.

The two of them sat out on the balcony, a faint light falling through the blinds onto Liu Zhaoran’s face, making that smile warm and dappled, so beautiful it hardly seemed real. Song Nanyin stared blankly for a moment, then abruptly snapped back to her senses.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You talk as if you actually like me. Two women saying things like that is just too sappy.” Song Nanyin rubbed her arm, where no goosebumps existed, with feigned impatience. Seeing that she was nearly done eating, Liu Zhaoran got up and cleared away the dishes.

“Rest for a bit. Come to my room once the sun has dipped a little.” With that, Liu Zhaoran left. Only after she was gone did Song Nanyin vaguely sense that something was off. If this is research, shouldn’t it be done in the examination room? Why had it moved to her room today?

Song Nanyin didn’t think too hard about it, simply assuming Liu Zhaoran had changed the venue. Figuring the examination might require taking off her clothes, she deliberately changed into a nightgown that was easy to slip on and off, and padded over to Liu Zhaoran’s room in her slippers.

“Black-Hearted Lotus, I’m coming in?”

“Mm.”

Hearing the voice inside, Song Nanyin pushed the door open and went in. The sun had only just set, and the outdoors wasn’t completely dark, yet Liu Zhaoran had drawn the curtains and switched on the wall lamp, giving the room an indescribable nocturnal mood, one suited to doing something “adult.”

“Why no lights? And the curtains drawn?” Song Nanyin walked over and asked in passing. Out of politeness, she didn’t sit directly on Liu Zhaoran’s bed. Perhaps sensing her hesitation, Liu Zhaoran patted the bed of her own accord, signaling she could sit wherever she liked.

The bed beneath her was very soft; sitting down felt like sinking into a cloud. Song Nanyin took a quick look around Liu Zhaoran’s room. Beside the head of the bed sat a vanity and desk joined together, and on the other side stood a row of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with books of every kind.

The bedroom’s main tones were white and gray, very much in keeping with Liu Zhaoran’s aura and temperament. No aromatherapy was burning, and the windows were shut tight; the moment she entered, Song Nanyin felt the air was exceptionally thick with Liu Zhaoran’s scent.

After all, this was a place the woman occupied often. That grass-smoke scent clung to the bed, the quilts, and every corner of the room. The pleasant fragrance seemed magnified several times over, flooding all at once into Song Nanyin’s nostrils.

Her nose itched a little; she raised a hand and rubbed it uneasily, then met Liu Zhaoran’s gaze.

“Does Team Leader Song think the scent here is strong?” Liu Zhaoran asked softly, her body leaning in as she spoke. For a moment Song Nanyin couldn’t react. Only when Liu Zhaoran drew close, until the distance between them was no longer safe, did she understand what “scent” she meant.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Weren’t we doing an examination? Hurry up, then.” Song Nanyin looked away to cover herself, her reaction exactly what Liu Zhaoran had hoped to see, and was satisfied by.

Just then, her shoulder was suddenly pressed down, and Song Nanyin was pushed flat onto the bed. Liu Zhaoran lay down directly on top of her. The surrounding scent grew denser with Liu Zhaoran’s closeness, and for a single instant, Song Nanyin’s consciousness went hazy.

Her body turned soft and weightless. Whether it was because the bed was too soft or her mind was drifting, Song Nanyin found Liu Zhaoran’s scent even more pleasant than before, even more fragrant.

“Bl… Black-Hearted Lotus, what are you doing…” Song Nanyin hadn’t expected Liu Zhaoran to make a move all of a sudden, and in such a manner. She wanted to resist, to sit up, but somehow Liu Zhaoran seemed to have grown very strong. Or rather, her own body couldn’t muster any strength at all.

She had noticed it last time, too. As soon as she caught Liu Zhaoran’s scent, her body went soft. Like now, she couldn’t even push her away.

“Team Leader Song, this is a routine examination.” Liu Zhaoran hadn’t failed to see the shock in Song Nanyin’s eyes, but beneath that look she also saw a hazy desire. The body pressed beneath her was soft, with the warm suppleness unique to women.

Song Nanyin had an excellent figure, and just how excellent, Liu Zhaoran was uniquely qualified to say. She brushed aside the thin dress she wore, and with its strap design, it was very easy to take off.

With that thin barrier gone, only Song Nanyin’s bra and panties were left on her. This woman’s underwear had always been sexy, matching her appearance in a bright, flamboyant style.

Fiery red fabric interlaced with black lace netting, a half-cup design that not only lifted nicely but didn’t squeeze her chest too painfully.

Indeed, for a size like Song Nanyin’s, this bra was perfectly suitable. Liu Zhaoran appraised it and, as a fellow woman, couldn’t help admiring Song Nanyin’s taste.

Her gaze moved downward, landing on panties that didn’t match the bra at all, panties that could even be said to clash with it in style. Liu Zhaoran remembered that when she and Song Nanyin had met at the lingerie store, among the ten pairs of panties the other woman bought, one was the pair she was wearing now.

Back then Liu Zhaoran had said she didn’t expect Song Nanyin’s panties to be so plain. Now, the answer couldn’t be more obvious.

Plain white cotton panties rested on her hips, wrapping the small, delicate part within. It had begun to swell faintly, its presence not too conspicuous. Liu Zhaoran lightly slid her fingertip across it, and Song Nanyin’s whole body trembled.

“What are you doing? Liu Zhaoran, if you’re not examining me, then let me go.” By this point, even someone as slow as Song Nanyin could tell something was wrong. She couldn’t help struggling, wanting to shove this damned woman off her, but her body simply had no strength to give.

Liu Zhaoran’s scent drifted all around; every particle of air was her grass-smoke fragrance. Song Nanyin couldn’t imagine how Liu Zhaoran’s scent could be this thick.

Perhaps seeing her confusion, Liu Zhaoran curved her lips in a smile. In her world, the reason the ABO human species had such clear divisions was that their pheromones attracted one another.

Alphas were drawn to Omega pheromones, and the higher an Omega’s pheromone rank, the denser the pheromones they released. The scent that spilled from the scent gland opening was a lure and a charm. So, before Song Nanyin arrived, Liu Zhaoran had already released her pheromones.

To make the scent even denser, she had masturbated for the first time in a long while. Stroking her body, exploring desires that had lain dormant for a long time; the feeling wasn’t bad, and she had gained the utmost satisfaction from it.

The grass-smoke scent, a fragrance Song Nanyin couldn’t resist, had reached an unprecedented concentration at this very moment.

The instant Song Nanyin lay down on the bed, Liu Zhaoran could clearly see her pupils contract. She sneered inwardly. So even Song Nanyin, who had suddenly differentiated into an Alpha, couldn’t resist her scent?

“Team Leader Song, this is exactly what I’m testing. It’s all part of the verification. You can smell the special scent on me, so can you smell other people’s too?”

Liu Zhaoran asked softly, her hand stroking gently over Song Nanyin’s belly, then moving up to brush along the side of her ribs.

“I… I don’t know… I can only smell yours. Other people’s… aren’t as nice.” Song Nanyin spoke in a daze, almost forgetting what she had said the very next second. Hearing her say “nice,” Liu Zhaoran’s lips curled up a little more.

Little Lion, you’re surprisingly candid at a time like this.

“So, when you smell my scent, do you feel it? Here, and here.” Liu Zhaoran leaned down and brought her lips to Song Nanyin’s ear. Her breath spilled out in warm streams, and she could clearly feel Song Nanyin’s trembling quicken.

Through the panties, Liu Zhaoran stroked the little part that had already risen, then moved her hand further down to the entrance below. The fabric there was stained with a bit of moisture, clearly more aroused.

This also confirmed Liu Zhaoran’s theory. After differentiating into an Alpha, Song Nanyin’s female sex organs hadn’t regressed; instead, they had grown more sensitive. From start to finish, she hadn’t touched Song Nanyin’s body. Merely by smelling her pheromones, the woman was already wet.

This sort of change really was interesting.

Liu Zhaoran pulled off Song Nanyin’s panties, glanced at the risen little part, then moved her gaze further down. She spread Song Nanyin’s legs, fetched a test kit, pressed the test strip between her legs, collected some clear fluid, and carefully put the strip away.

Seeing the sample she had obtained, Liu Zhaoran wanted nothing more than to head straight to the lab and study it. It was then that Song Nanyin came back to her senses a little. Liu Zhaoran lowered her head and met her crimson eyes. Song Nanyin’s face was flushed deep red, not so much from shame as from anger.

“You called me here just for this? Toying with my body and watching me squirm, is that what satisfies you?” Song Nanyin’s face darkened, her green eyes stained red by fury.

Liu Zhaoran hadn’t expected this from her, and for a moment she didn’t know how to explain herself. Or rather, the more fitting word was how to talk her way out of it.

Seeing Liu Zhaoran struck speechless, Song Nanyin clenched her fists, wishing she could land a solid punch on this outrageous woman’s face. But she wasn’t that crude a person. Even if she was going to get back at Liu Zhaoran, she’d think of a more suitable way.

“Team Leader Song, I… mmph!” Liu Zhaoran was still thinking of some way to soothe the foolish lion she had provoked, when Song Nanyin, drawing on strength that came from nowhere, abruptly seized her wrist and pinned her onto the bed. She grabbed the dress that had been tossed aside, lifted Liu Zhaoran’s wrists above her head, and bound them together.

In an instant, the tables had turned.